author
Lizzie Doten
1827–1913
Best known as a poet and trance speaker in the American Spiritualist movement, she drew attention for public readings said to be inspired by voices from beyond—especially Edgar Allan Poe. Her work blends nineteenth-century performance, belief, and verse in a way that still feels unusual today.
3 Audiobooks
Poems from the Inner Life
by Lizzie Doten
Poems of Progress
by Lizzie Doten
About the author
Born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Doten was an American poet, lecturer, and writer who became a prominent figure in nineteenth-century Spiritualism. She was especially known for appearing as a trance speaker and for claiming that famous dead writers, including Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Burns, and Shakespeare, communicated poetry through her.
Doten published poetry, fiction, and essays, and she is most often remembered for books such as Poems from the Inner Life and Poems of Progress. Her reputation rested not only on the poems themselves, but also on the dramatic way they were presented in public lectures, where audiences came to hear literature, inspiration, and spiritual experience all at once.
Today, she stands at an interesting crossroads of American literary and religious history: part poet, part performer, and part celebrity medium. Even for listeners who do not share the beliefs that made her famous, her career offers a vivid window into the culture of reform, mysticism, and public lecturing in the 1800s.